Activities from stars to ocean to slopes

Updated 1:47 am, Thursday, November 15, 2012

Tess Koleczek of Richmond caught her first Humboldt squid this week when a school of the mollusks approached the Huli Cat charter boat off the San Mateo coast at Tunitas Creek.

Tess Koleczek of Richmond caught her first Humboldt squid this week when a school of the mollusks approached the Huli Cat charter boat off the San Mateo coast at Tunitas Creek.

Photo: Tom Mattusch, Courtesy Photo

Activities from stars to ocean to slopes

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No matter what happens this weekend - clear, cloudy, or rain and snow - you can't lose.

Clear skies Saturday night mean a chance to see the Leonid meteor shower, which can vary from dudsville to the most incredible night sky of the ages.

If the weather brings overcast skies with light winds, a more likely outcome, that would make for great fishing conditions for crab, rockfish and squid. Park recreation programs, already booked full on the Peninsula for the weekend, provide options for both Saturday and Sunday in Marin and East Bay counties.

If the storm holds off until Monday, perhaps with an additional chance of snow showers Friday and Sunday in the Sierra, the forecast that makes sense to me, you can coronate the start of winter. In the Tahoe area, six ski resorts will be open.

Take your pick.

Leonid meteor shower

The Leonids can provide a once-in-a-lifetime event. In 1966, it produced the most dramatic meteor shower in modern history: a quarter million shooting stars in an hour. Or it can be uneventful, leaving you gazing for hours while nothing happens or the meteors zip by so fast that you miss them. When it happens, it's best after midnight, with some of the fastest meteors known. Many leave long trails. Astronomy info: chabotspace.org.

Crab, fish, squid

When it comes to fishing, numbers don't lie. Since the sport-crab season started Nov. 3, all trips out of Emeryville Sportfishing Center have had limits of Dungeness crab, that is, 29 for 29, and missed only once on the same trips for limits of rockfish.

On-the-spot note: From Tom Mattusch, captain of the Huli Cat: "We were off of Tunitas, catching rockfish, and packs of 10 to 20 Humboldt squid came up around the boat, hunting for anchovies, going after the rockfish, and we caught 25 of them on shrimp flies."

-- San Pablo Bay: Sturgeon fishing this week might be a forerunner to a big winter. The Sturgeon General, Keith Fraser, reported good sturgeon action, a fish per rod or better for some, with bonus striped bass in the mix. Anchor above the pumphouse and use ghost shrimp for bait. The biggest this week was a 6 1/2-footer. Unlike last year at this time, there are no bait-robbing crabs.

Saturday's tides: A low tide of 2.7 feet at 7:20 a.m. is followed by a high tide of 6.3 feet at 1:30 p.m. The day is capped by a low tide of minus-1.0 foot at 8 p.m. The next series of minus tides starts Nov. 25.

-- South Tahoe: Heavenly opened Wednesday, with access out of the Gondola at the California main lodge (and free shuttle), for the California Trail and Tamarack Return. (800) 432-8365, skiheavenly.com. Kirkwood off Highway 88 near Carson Pass opens Friday. (209) 258-6000, kirkwood.com.

-- Eastern Sierra: Mammoth Mountain is running 6 of 28 lifts (including one to the top) with access to 23 of 150 runs (seven groomed). All open lifts are out of main lodge. (800) 626-6684, mammothmountain.com.

-- More opening dates: Mount Rose-Ski Tahoe scheduled to open next Wednesday; Sierra-at-Tahoe announced for next Thursday (conditions permitting); Alpine Meadows is set for Dec. 7, with the chance of opening earlier.

All to yourself

In a blog post at sfgate.com/outdoors, I posted a photo gallery and video Wednesday night of a trip I took to Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, the Smith River National Recreation Area and adjacent Siskiyou Wilderness. In treks to Buck Lake, the South Fork Smith and Buck Creek Shelter, I had paradise all to myself. So can you. Check it out.

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